Floor and base board cleaner



1962 D. c. CAUFIELD FLOOR AND BASE BOARD CLEANER Filed Jan. 2, 1962 &

m-romviy United States Patent 3,060,476 FLOOR AND BASE BOARD CLEANER Donald C. Caufield, Columbia, Conn. Filed Jan. 2, 1962, Ser. No. 163,429 3 Claims. (Cl. -49) This invention relates to floor cleaners and more particularly to a rotary brush type cleaner movable about a floor and adapted, when a portion of its housing is removed, to simultaneously clean the base board and portions of the floor adjacent the side Walls of the room being cleaned.

An object of primary importance of the invention is to provide a removable portion at the forward portion of the housing for the brush or wheel so that with this forward portion of the housing removed the full height of the rotary brush or wheel may contact and clean the wall board simultaneously with portions of the floor adjacent the side walls.

During normal floor cleaning operations, the removable or displaceable housing portion will be in place and forms the enclosure for the forward portion of the wheel or brush, the removable or displaceable portion of the housing having a rigid downward extending circumferal flange conforming to the remainder of the housing to prevent the wheel or brush contacting furniture or other objects on the floor.

It is an object therefore of the invention to provide a floor cleaner of the standard rotary brush type with a removable section of its housing to permit simultaneous cleaning of the floor adjacent the side walls of a room and the base board.

The rotary brush engages the surface of the base board along an element of its cylindrical surface. The lower end face of the brush engages and cleans the area of the floor adjacent the base board over its entire flat surface.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention may include the features of construction and operation set forth in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

In the accompanying drawing annexed hereto and forming a part of this specification, I have shown the invention embodied in a standard form of floor cleaner having a cylindrical form of brush, the lower end face of which is flat and may engage and clean the floor surface, but it will be understood that the invention can be otherwise embodied and that the drawing is not to be construed as defining or limiting the scope of the invention, the claims appended to this specification being relied upon for that purpose.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a standard floor cleaner to which the present invention has been applied;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the housing for the wheel or brush showing the parts thereof separated, and

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the parts shown in FIG. 2, the section being taken on the plane of line 2.-2.

In the above mentioned drawing there has been shown but one embodiment of the invention which is now deemed preferable, but it is to be understood that changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring more in detail to the figures of the drawing it will be seen that the invention is shown applied to a standard form of cylindrical rotary wheel or brush having its lower end face adapted to engage and clean a floor. The housing It supports a wheel or brush 12 driven by a motor 14 mounted in fixed position on the upper surface of the housing 10. Any preferred means may be employed for rotating the brush or wheel 12 from the motor 14. To aid in moving the cleaner about the floor to be cleaned are rollers or wheels 16, one only of which is shown. An arm 18 comprising closely parallel rod members is pivotally connected to the housing and held in its oblique position by braces 20 and contains a switch 22 controlling rotation of the motor 14 and brush 12 from a suitable source of current. Lead wires 23 extend from the switch 22 to the motor 14 as shown. Suitable handles 24 at the upper end of the arm 18 convenient to the switch 22 enable the cleaner to be moved about the surface to be cleaned and the motor 14 started and stopped as required during the cleaning operation.

Referring to FIGURES 2 and 3 of the drawing, it will be seen that the forward portion 26 of the housing 10 is separable from the remainder thereof. The separable portion 26 as shown is forward of the motor 14 and its connection to the brush or wheel 12. The forward portion 26 therefore may be removed without interfering with the driving connections between the motor 14 and the brush 12. Also the oblique operating arm 18 is attached to the main portion of the housing 10 so that removal of the forward portion 26 of the housing 10 does not interfere in any way with the control for the motor 14 or support for the cleaner.

The forward portion of the housing 26 as shown is of arcuate shape and its periphery when in place conforms to and provides a complete enclosure for the wheel or brush 12. In this operative position the downward extending flange 2% of the housing 26 prevents engagement of the brush 12 with furniture or other articles on the floor being cleaned.

To detachably secure the forward portion 26 of the housing to the main portion 10 thereof, projections 30 on either side of the housing may be provided, those shown being on the forward portion 26 of the housing. These projections 30 which extend parallelly to each other enter the spaces within U-shaped members 32 secured to the lower surface of the main portion of the housing. The forward separable portion 26 of the housing may therefore be frictionally retained in position closely adjacent and fitting the shaped forward surface of the main portion of the housing to complete the enclosure for the wheel or brush 12.

When the forward portion 26 of the housing is removed from its operative position the forward arcuate periphery of the cylindrical surface of the wheel or brush 12 is exposed and may contact and clean the lower portion of a side wall or base board extending around the floor surface being cleaned. This lower portion of the side-wall or base board may therefore be thoroughly cleaned by the cylindrical surface of the wheel or brush 12. To effect this base board cleaning effectively a form of wheel may be used formed of nylon fibres impregnated with silicon carbide. This form of brush or wheel when wetted has ample flexibility to conform to and closely contact the adjacent surfaces of the floor and base board.

I claim as my invention:

1. A floor cleaner comprising a housing, a cylindrical brush supported therein for rotation on a vertical axis, and a motor supported on said housing for rotating said brush, said housing having a separable portion adapted when removed from its operative position to expose an 'arcuate section of the cylindrical portion of said brush.

2. A floor cleaner comprising a housing, a cylindrical brush supported therein for rotation on a vertical axis, a motor fixed to said housing for rotating said brush, said housing having a separable portion adapted when removed from its operative position to expose an arcuate section at the forward portion of said brush, and means to detachably retain the separable portion of said hous ing against the main portion thereof.

3. A floor-cleaner comprising a housing extending circumferentially about said cleaner, a cylindrical brush enclosed by said housing and supported therein for rotation on a vertical axis, a motor fixed to said housing for rotating said brush, said housing having a displaceable portion adapted when displaced to expose an arcuate section at the forward portion of said brush, and means to retain said displaceable portion of said housing against the main portion thereof, said displaceable portion of the casing when in its operative position completing the enclosure for said brush.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

